EVEN as there seemed to be signs that the talks in Geneva might defuse the dangerous situation in Ukraine another worrying development has occurred.

Anti-Semitic leaflets handed out in Donetsk is the lastest in a history of racism[PH]

The distribution in the city of Donetsk of leaflets ordering Jewish residents to register with the pro-Russian authorities in eastern Ukraine is a chilling reminder of the evil of anti?Semitism in Eastern Europe in the 19th and 20th century which had such appalling consequences.

Attending the meeting in Switzerland US Secretary of State John Kerry said: “In the year 2014 after all of the miles travelled and all of the journey of history this is not just intolerable, it’s grotesque. It is beyond unacceptable.”

It is not yet clear who has written or distributed these vile leaflets and it might be simply mischief-making designed to sour relations between communities in Donetsk.

Ukraine has a terrible history of anti-Semitism

But Ukraine has a terrible history of anti-Semitism. In 1941, 11,500 Jewish people were slaughtered in one day during the Nazi occupation.

Russia too has a shameful history so President Putin’s claims about combating a resurgence of anti-Semitism in Ukraine must not be taken at face value.

Compared with the horrors of the past Jewish and non-Jewish people have co-existed in Ukraine harmoniously in recent years as community leaders including Chief Rabbi Kaminezki of Dnipropetrovsk have stressed.

But the fact remains that the spectre of anti-Semitism still haunts Eastern Europe and, as history tells us, friendly co-existence can so easily turn to hate and persecution.